Defilement And Girl-Child Education In Selected Secondary Schools In Mbooni East District-Eastern Province Of Kenya

Eff01is are also in place to remove gender stereotype in the classroom and textbooks, which have contributed to the poor performance of girls. Gender courses have been introduced in institutions of higher learning, 58 Folk Development Colleges (FDCs) and four Community

Abstract

Development Training Institutes (CDTis) of Tanzania Mainland Besides efforts in the education sector, attempts have also been made to protect young girls from sexual violence, with various laws being enacted to prohibit sexual abuse, defilement, rape and female genital mutilation. The sexual Offences (Special Provisions) Act of 1998 was enacted to, among other things, to protect the girl child from all these ills. In Kenya the girl is exceptionally vulnerable to HIV/infection. Girls in the age bracket of 14-19 are six times more infected by HIV than their counterparts the boys. This affects their access to schooling. In belief that they are HIV free they face increased risk of sexual harassment on their way to and from school. At another level this has led to increased defilement cases. The situation is pathetic at secondary level. Whereas most of all those impoverished by AIDS and the orphans are able to attend Primary Education because of the UPE policy the majority cannot proceed to secondary level. The underlying reason of this drop out rate is the inability to pay school fees. This inability is AIDS related in most cases AIDS causes loss and extra of dependable source of income spending to take care of the sick members of the family. It is very clear therefore that AIDS will affect the demand for education due to fewer children attending school. It is also possible that few children will want to attend school properly because of the traumas they suffer through the experience of AIDS in their families, partly because they have to work to generate income for family support or are needed to care for the sick or for the young ones. Children from families affected by AIDS see little value